Self loading and unloading gart



N. PETERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D, CV

" TofjaZZ (whom t mag/homere ."M'Ihe drawings resenting a cart `from which aisecton com-` .i

C prising` one scoop randits box has" been cut oftlfrom the rearend,it being deemed un-A i Be it known that I,JNATHAN WiLxIN- `soN,otHopewellyCottonYVorks P; lO., in

`thec'ounty ofChester andState of Pennsylvania, "have invented certaimnew` and useful Improvements in Self Loading and Unload V `ing Cart-s for thefRemovaljof Earth, Gravel,

0&0., and I do hereby. `declare `that the fol-"g` i lowing is` a"\`iulla'nd exact description of the j fconstruetionand operation of the saine, reference being had to the aeeempariyng drawings, making a partof thisj speciication; The` most .prominent Y `feature of myl im- `fpfrovedl` `cart consists@` the `arraingernent in oneyvehicle of aseries `(")i-Iktwo, three, or more comparatively `small seoop shovels or scrap` ers, with suitablecarryingboxes attached, so constructed" and arranged that each of the l `boxes `'constitiitirig `the series can bei` loaded j in? succession, independently of the others,

whilel the `vehicle is u inE motion, thus rendering"sit",unnecessary,` to the compara#` tive shortness `trein@front` to' rear of the scoopsto be forcedintothe substantie with which ithe cart `istolbe loaded, and;` the l smallnessof therquantityfto be taken up by each, that al strong team "should be employed,

i `oran extrateam hitchedron while the cart is being loaded, as" is` usually the casein taki fingup a suiiicient load foi'ianlordinary team in a carth'aving but one'largescoop; the arrangementffor .unloading being such that `jwhen. the vehicleiis `removed to the Iplace where the `load is tof beg deposited the con-` j `tents offallthe boxes can `be `dumped, si1`nul-` Vtaneously withoutstopping the team, and leave theload spreadfout ina layer of uni-` l i. `form, ornearly uniform,`fthickness. I have` also made someimprovements inthe details` ofitheconstruction and `arrangement of my cart, `whichwill` bedeseribed hereafter.. v

` I willnow proceed to `describe the coni struction fand: operation: otmyfcart, by ref- J erence to the annexed drawings.

Figure 1 is a` side elevation of a Vvehicle i constructed inaccordance with my improvements.` Fig. 2 is a verticallongitudinal section through the center` of the same.

The f same letters of reference inyeach of the apparatus.`

may be considered as repj ESTAWENT OFFIC?. f

` :oNATHAN WILKINSON, or` nornwnnn co'r'roN woRlKs r. o., rENNsY-LVANIA.

. SELF LOADING `AND UNLoADrNe CART.

others", if preferred.

In` the following description, when refverence is. made to the levers by which the scoops,boxes, and adjustable frame are operated, `for convenience,` the word lever willbe employed to designate either a single lever, or` a pair of levers operating conjointly `for the same purpose, it being intended to use either single levers or pairs of them, as may be found best or most convenient.

\ A, A, represents a fixed frame which is permanently fastened to the axletree of the cart, and to which all the adjustable parts of: the vehicle are either` directlyor indi` rectly attached.

. B is the tongue O r shaft to which the team is to be hitched. In the drawings it is represented as being cut oii even with the front end ofthe frame A, A.

`C is the axletree, and D, the wheels of the vehicle.

E, is the adjustable frame to which the scoops and boxes are attached, and which is itself attached to the fixed frame through the medium of sliding bars or pieces" F, of

`which there is one on each side of the vehicle. These sliding pieces permit the frame to be raised and lowered to whatever extent may be necessary.

f The adjustableviframe E, is attached to the lower `ends of the sliding pieces F, by a hinge or joint atG, upon which it moves to permit its front or hind end to be raised or lowered as required. The rear end ofthe adjustable frame` isjraised and lowered by operating the lever I-I, and the iront end, as

well as the front scoop and box, by operating the lever I. j

The rontscoop L, `with its box, is represented asbeing attached to the adjustable lframe without the intervention of sliding pieces like M and M', as in the case of the g scoops and 'boxes Lf and L, but it is evi- Q dent that it may be attached to the frame in the same manner as the others, and be oper` ated in the same way. The lever I, is represented as `being detached from its detent,

and the front end bf the adjustable frame and front scoop let down into the position for being loaded.

The levers for operating the scoops and boxes are connected to them by rods a, b,- a, b; and a, b. The rods o, o and a, for operating the scoops are attached to the levers at a greater distance from their fulcrums than the rods b, o and o, for open ating the boxes, so that operating the levers moves the scoops through a greater space than it does the boxes. The rods ZJ and Z5, are attached to the upper ends of the slides M and M', and by elevating or depressing these slides, operate their respective boXes.

The scoops and boxes are constructed so that the front part or scoop moves up and down on a hinge or joint whose center of motion runs from side to side of the vehicle, and the bottom of each box also works on a hinge having the same center of motion as the scoop, so that it can be let down any distance required for dumping the load, as indicated in red at N, in Fig. 2.

rllhe bottoms of the boxes, or the dumping gates o, c, and 0"", are connected to the windlasses CZ, d, and el, by cords, chains, or suitable connections, and to the windlasses are attached arms or pieces c, e', and e, which lock into notches in the spring bars f, f, and f, these bars servingras detents by which, through the medium of the `windlasses, the dumping gates are kept closed.

The upper ends of the spring detents f, f and f, are connected together by the rod or bar O. This rod O is operated by the lever I). By pushing back the lever P, the detents f, f and f are all moved back so as to release the arms e, e and e, and thus the rear ends of the dumping gates c, c and o, are dropped simultaneously.

The scoops have holes l, 2, 3, into either of which the rods a, a and a, may be fastened. This device furnishes a means of graduating the motion of the scoops, in addition to that of operating the levers I, J and K.

The levers for operating the adjustable frame, scoops, and dumping apparatus may be arranged either to be worked by an operator riding on the vehicle, or standing on the ground by its side, as may be preferred.

If the earth, etc., to be removed lies in a compact state, it should be loosened up by plowing, or otherwise, preparatory to its being loaded on to the cart.

The operation of my apparatus is as follows: The levers H, I, J, K, being locked down in their detents, the scoops, boxes, and adjustable frame all elevated and the dumping gates closed, suppose the front' scoop to have arrived at, or nearly at, the place where it is desired to .commence loadingthe operator first detachee the lever I-I, from its detent so as to lower the rear end of the adjustable frame E; and then detachee the lever I, and lets down the front scoop L, and retains it at the proper depth until a sufficient quantity of earth, &c., is taken up. The lever is then pressed down and locked in its detent, which raises the front of the scoop considerably above a horizontal line, so that it forms the front part of the box, and prevents the contents from falling out at that side. 'Ihe lirst of the series being thus loaded and elevated, and the vehicle still advancing, the operator, before the front end of the second scoop L', arrives at the point from which the first was raised, by detaohing the lever J lets down the second scoop, so that it may commence taking up its load where the first one finished. When it has taken up a sufficient quantity, it iS raised by depressing and locking its lever as was-done with the first scoop; and so on until all of the series composing the cart are loaded. 'Ihe rear end of the adjustable frame is then elevated by depressing and locking the lever H, when the vehicle is ready to be removed to the place where it is desired to dump the load. When arrived at the place of deposit, the lever I?, which operates the dumping gates, is moved -in the proper direction, which opens all of them simultaneously, and permits the contents of the boxes to pass out and be spread by the forward motion of the vehicle, in a layer of uniform, or nearly uniform thickness.

It will be observed from the foregoing, that there is no occasion for stopping the vehicle either in loading or unloading, so that no time is ylost in that way. It is evident, therefore, from the facility with which carts constructed on my plan can be loaded and unloaded, that, by employing a gang of such carts, earth, &c., can be transported from one locality to another with great rapidity and economy of manual labor.

I contemplate that my improved cart may be used for various purposes, such as grading railroads, or common roads, and for changing soils from one locality to another, which in many cases, is a very desirable object.

It is well known that, in scoop carts containing but one large scoop, it is necessary to employ a more powerful team while the vehicle is being loaded than is requisite for hauling the load to the place of deposit; or otherwise, if a team of only sufficient strength to haul an ordinary load is used, it becomes necessary, in most cases, while loading, to hitch on an eXtra team, in order to take up a suflicient load. This is a necessary consequence of the construction of such carts. 'Ihe scoop being of considerable length from front to rear is liable to clog before a sufficient quantity of earth, &c., for a load is forced into it, and the point of the scoop must be run at a considerable f depthbelow the surface inorder to afford enough of resistanceto push the earthto' the back endz of the scoop box,thu`s occasion-H f ing the necessity forthe` use of a team `,of extra strength, while loading` o These dii culites are toa great` extent, `if not entirely, obviatedin myyimprovedcart.` o i I donotintend to` confine myself, in the i construction `of `my carts, to -thel precise method set forth in` the foregoingalspecification, as it is` evident that various modifi-,15 cations of it may befmade without departing from main features of my invention. j UI claim as new, and of my invention in `self-loading andyunloading carts, y1. The combination and 'arrangement "in o one vehicle, of aseriesfof two, three, or more i comparativelysmall scoop `shovels or scrapl ers, `and their respective :carrying Eboxes, sol

that `each of the seriescan be loaded in succleis removed to the place where the load is tobe deposited, all the boxes of the series can be dumpedfor unloaded simultaneously,

without stopping the team`,`and leave the contents spread out in a `layer of uniform,

or nearly uniform depth, the whole being constructed .andioperated the manner,

`and forfthejpur'poses, setforth in the fore. golng` specication," or in any otherl manner substantially l equivalent thereto.

2. I also claim the manner ofqoperating the scoops and boxes by means oflevers connected to them byhtwo rods, or their equivalents, to each lever, the one vattachedto the box being connected with the lever nearer `its fulcrum than the jone attached to the scoop, so that operating the lever will move `the scoop `through a greater space than it does 'the box, thus enabling the scoop to be depressed a suflicient distance to take up its portion ofthe load', and then elevated so as to constitute the front oflthe carrying box, `while', at thesame time, the box is elevated by the rod attached to the lever nearest its fulcrum a sutlicient distance to be clear of the surface over which the vehicle is to be conveyed, substantially as herein described and set forth.

`3. I also claimv the manner of attaching `the scoop boxes to the adjustable frame, and

the adjustable frame to the xed frame, by

means 'of sliding bars or rods, or their me-` chanical equivalents, so constructed and arranged that the scoops and boxes are'capable of a vertical, but not of a horizontal motion, except as the whole vehicle is moved,

thus enabling the scoops while being loaded,

`to be held firmly, at any desired depth,

against the substance to be taken up by them, substantially as herein specified.

`In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name before two witnesses.

Witnesses:

ISAAC SPEAR, J osEPH ANDERSON.

JONATHAN WILKINSON.l 3 

